A few shots from San Antonio before I dive back into the books and papers that patiently waited for me here . . .

My sister Anastasia and niece Summer

My brother-in-law Steve and nephew Conley B

My nephew Tully, to the right of his funny-face-making friend

Summer, me, Tully, and the reason my Dad doesn't photograph much

Conley B and me


My folks at Waring TX's famous Steak Night


Storytime with Miss Anastasia for Tully's classes
Enraptured by her finely-crafted silliness


Ski gear lent from friends for a December adventure

All in all, a gratitude-inspiring Thanksgiving break:

• one holiday,
• two pumpkin desserts,
• three kids,
• four adults,
• five dog-walks,
• and six naps,

all delighted in over

• seven days.

Summer, Tully, and Conley. What uncle could ask for anything more than a week with these adorably rambunctious rapscallions?


The event these candids are from was a friend's birthday party over the weekend (Theme: "Superman, Train, Shark" -- I kid you not) but today's big hullabaloo was Keynote presentations at both Tully and Summer's schools. Yeehaa!

My folks didn't come to Boston for gourmet grub and visits with friends alone. Yesterday we hit up the Museum of Fine Arts (where I fell in love with Louis-Léopold Boilly) instead of letting hurricane-force winds on the Cape hit us. And today we immersed ourselves (figuratively speaking, of course) in the wonders of watery Creation at the New England Aquarium -- where I fell in love again with my telephoto lens.

Jellyfish are crazy (arguably the world's most numerous predators and some of them are more closely related to humans than to each other!) but Rockhopper penguins are adorable.

(Look closely in this photo and you can totally see that Emperor penguin [statue] gnaw on my decidedly-non-krill-shaped fingers.)

Pumpkin ravioli in a gorgonzola sauce. Veal cutlet with cauliflower cake. Seafood ravioli in a champagne rosé sauce with caviar. And chicken saltimbocca with scores of mushrooms and goodness I couldn't pronounce then or spell now.

The iPhone photos can't do justice to the gorgeous plates, or our happy bellies behind them, but how could an evening in the North End with my visiting parents and myfriendMargaretPost be anything but lovely?

(For you food and detail devotees, we started with a prosciutto and portabello mushroom appetizer that featured fresh whole sage leaves and drank an excellent Sangiovese.)